Our Weekend Collecting Seashells In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Somebody pinch me! Did we really get to travel to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to collect seashells? If I’m still dreaming, I haven’t woken up because I am looking at the most beautiful Caribbean shells from Cuba I’ve ever seen and have some awesome photos that have magically appeared. But honestly, I think Clark and I just might be the luckiest souls on the planet because we received a special invitation to visit the Guantanamo Bay military base by the coolest beachcombers we’ve ever met- our sponsors Susan and Lee have lived there for over two years.

We knew we were in another world when they took us to one of the first beaches and these were the shells we found in and around the rocks. And y’all, these weren’t in the water! They were all sitting on the beach wedged in between rocks and coarse dark sand…

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I found my first ever RETICULATED COWRIE-HELMET…

There were a lot of firsts for me… My first CUBAN FROG SHELL!

UPDATE: Oops! yes I found my first CUBAN FROG SHELL on this trip but this isn’t it. LOL This one is a CORRUGATED FROG SHELL or also called the GAUDY FROG SHELL. To see the CUBAN FROG …CLICK HERE

Let’s try this again…. This is my first GAUDY FROG SHELL! hahaha

Our generous host Lee knows every square inch of the beaches and told us what to look for when we arrived at each different beach.

But! He was even surprised when he found a very hairy ATLANTIC HAIRY TRITON laying high on the beach in between the rocks. Boom Shellalaka!

Our fabulous hostess Susan was the first to find a perfect TRITON’S TRUMPET…

Once Clark saw Susan’s TRITON’S TRUMPET, he was like a bloodhound after a new scent. He didn’t even have time to take off his snorkeling vest he wore from the boat to the beach… he was on the hunt. Of course! He found one and it is huuuuujah!

This is how big it is in my hand (because Clark couldnt stand still for one more minute of posing with it because he was way too focused on finding another one! hahaha)

Right after Clark found his TRITON, I found another first… a FLAME HELMET.

I still can’t believe what a beautiful site it was to see Clark’s shell bag…

We moved on to another beach without so many rocks but still found shells like this HAWK-WING CONCH that was half buried in packed sand.

We even found a entire dried CHITON with all of its segments intact attached to a small rock…

Truthfully, I feel so guilty showing yall all of these incredible shells we found without this being a tourist destination that you can travel to as well. So I especially feel a little funny about telling you that not only do they have great shells at GTMO…. but…. Okay, get out the drool cup y’all ….. because we even found gorgeous SEAGLASS.

We collected handfuls of turquoise blue, green and cobalt blue SEA GLASS at a beach appropriately named Glass Beach.

Lee found several pieces of old Coca Cola bottles with “CUBA” stamped on the bottom of them. He showed me a card written by Mark Halsey, a former GTMO resident and jewelry maker who wrote…

“…Stories have it that some glass comes from pirate ships that tried to find safety just inside the bay only to fall short and sink near it’s entrance but most of the gems that wash ashore probably come from an enlisted men’s club that overlooked the bay back in the late 1800’s. Known as the ‘White Hat Club’ after headgear worn by enlisted men of that era, this club was a place where enlisted men could let off some steam after a long days work. Prior to any environmental awareness, the sailors would just toss their empty beer, wine and liquor bottles into the cove below. To this day sea glass gems of every color can be found in abundance on this beautiful stretch of beach. Whether from pirate ships to tipsy sailors, Glass Beach glitters with history and has helped Guantanamo Bay Cuba earn the nickname ‘Pearl of the Antilles‘.”

Just like any day of shelling on most beaches, we had to work for our treasures. We had to do some rock climbing…

We sloshed around through MANGROVE roots (where Clark found this awesome red FLAT ZIGZAG SCALLOP)…

We snorkeled for a few gems…

And we walked…. and walked…. and walked over rocks, sand and through surf to find our gifts from the sea…

At the end of each day, we laid out some of our finds for a little Shell ‘N Tell. These were Lee’s besties from one day…

These were Susan’s shells from one day…

Clark and I co-mingled our shells (shocking, right?) for our Shell ‘N Tell show. Ahem… Although I do have to brag about finding 4 out of the 4 CARRIER SHELLS on the tray! (Ummm, but most of the CONES are Clark’s finds)

We also got to do a little sightseeing like going to their LIGHTHOUSE Museum but I’ll spare you from the “home- movie” type stuff…

We saw jumbo IGUANAS everywhere! They are quite different from our cute little GECKOS.

Our trip to Guantanamo Bay Cuba will go down as one of our best weekends EVAH because of our hosts Lee and Susan. And BTW, do they look a little familiar? They were in Sanibel for the SHELLABALOO 2 in May! We can’t thank you enough Lee and Susan for such an amazing time in your neck of the woods.

I’m sure you have questions about the history of GUANTANAMO BAYandthe U.S. Military Base so you can read this Wikipedia entry – CLICK HERE. It’s fascinating!

I will have some close-ups and details of some of our shells coming up in another post soon. But wait… I have one more photo for today. CYBERSHELLING – GTMO Style! Click on the image to enlarge to find SEAGLASS and minis…Because it don’t GIT-MO better than this! LOL

Like this:

Related

93 Comments

Wow, ya’ll had a fabulous trip, I see! So happy for you. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and shell pictures!!!

Robin
on July 2, 2013 at 9:03 pm

Wow! Totally jealous! Great shell finds and oh my! The sea glass! This is utter fabulousness. So glad you had such a great trip trip and came back with so many treasures. I’ll be looking for you on the beaches of Sanibel this summer and fall. I’ll be the one with the shell bag…..

Ken Figa
on July 2, 2013 at 9:08 pm

WOW, just WOW!! I’m so glad you and Clark got to do this!
When do the guided tours start? Count me in!!
Thanks for sharing!

Patti Goodwin
on July 2, 2013 at 9:10 pm

Wow amazing shelling for sure!!! And love the sea glass. I am enjoying time looking on the beaches of Prince Edward Island Canada this summer for beach glass and have found some great finds but those colors are awesome!
I am curious about the Glass Beach is it right on the base there so accessible only to US Military & guests? I know many from Canada who do travel to Cuba but have never heard anyone speak of that beach. Sea glass my second favorite beach find after the shells.

Judy
on July 2, 2013 at 9:12 pm

I’ve shelled and hunted seaglass in Puerto Rico, but your trip to Cuba and sharing that is awesome! Thanks for your website and sharing it with us!

Sue Billings
on July 2, 2013 at 9:13 pm

Wow! How so very lucky for you!!!!!!

Dena Roper
on July 2, 2013 at 9:13 pm

Congratulations on beating my three carrier shell trip to Sanibel! What a cool trip and what cool shells! I am so jealous! Every time I come on your website I get beach envy!

Cynthia
on July 2, 2013 at 9:15 pm

WoW what Beautiful Shells. Looks like y’all had an AweSome time. Thanks so much for sharing your Adventure with us.

Denise (NY Times)
on July 2, 2013 at 9:15 pm

Pam….wonderful shells and the sea glass is amazing! A chance of a life time for you and Clark!
I will be joining you on your next shelling tour on the 17th! Looking forward to seeing you again!

Anna Lemons
on July 2, 2013 at 9:24 pm

I am hyperventilating right now!! Whoa! Those shells are amazing! I have GOT to find my way to Guantanamo! What’s Castro’s number??? LOL

Tina
on July 2, 2013 at 9:26 pm

What an extremely, wonderful trip for you two! Love the excitement and joy you show! Beautiful and amazing treasures, well deserved! Thanks Pam!

Wow such cool stuff!! How neat for you guys to have this opportunity!! …and you found sea glass in ‘corporate colors’ too!! Amazing!! Thanks for ‘taking us with you’!! :D

Genine
on July 2, 2013 at 9:59 pm

Wow. What gorgeous shells and beautiful sea glass. My brother was stationed at GITMO for 18 months as a Marine several years ago. Who knew it held such beautiful treasures? Congrats on the great finds and welcome home!! ;-)

Shellinator
on July 2, 2013 at 10:00 pm

OMG !….

Robin McDonald
on July 2, 2013 at 10:05 pm

WOW! That’s all I can say because I am drooling over the beautiful seaglass you found! What an incredible opportunity to visit such a place. I can imagine you were like a little girl finding all these amazing treasures. Thanks for sharing!

Kris S.
on July 2, 2013 at 10:19 pm

Wow – there are no words to describe how jealous I am!! What a terrific place to treasure hunt! My son is in the Navy so I think I am going to have to drag him down there to get me on the base! We just got back from Hawaii with him and we were able to hit a great military beach – but ZERO shells! Just soft sugar sand! ugh! (well, ok – soft sugar sand and clear blue water was pretty awesome!)
Were you on the base for all of these shells or are there beaches off the base too? Thank you for posting!!

We were on the base the whole time. We couldnt go into the “real” cuba. There is no going off base when you visit GTMO but if your son gets stationed there, you will have access to some good beaches.

Sharene
on July 2, 2013 at 10:39 pm

My only questions is with shells like that why did he come to Sanibel, the answer is to meet you and all the rest of us Shellers. Looks like you and Clark had a great time with expert shellers. Will have to see where we Caanadians can go on the rest of the island to find shells like those.

Roxanne Reinhart
on July 2, 2013 at 10:42 pm

Oh my gosh Pam Rambo!! You are indeed one lucky woman!! Thank you so much for sharing with us. Even though ill never get to Cuba I can’t wait to see and hear all bout your trip. Love Clark’s Trumpet shell and the sea glass …. Love it!! What an amazing journey!!!

Dee
on July 2, 2013 at 10:43 pm

Shell porn…omg, I’m in heaven just looking at all your spectacular finds!

Roxanne Reinhart
on July 2, 2013 at 10:47 pm

Love that last picture too. The sea glass and the coral or is it worm rock. I can’t tell the difference, but love them both.

Ann
on July 2, 2013 at 11:59 pm

So cool. Those are beauties!

Alesha Charles
on July 3, 2013 at 12:02 am

O’ I am absolutely drooling over those shells! I really hope to go to Cuba one day with the sole purpose of shelling! :) Amazing finds!

Looks like a lot of work picking through all those rocks! What a shame you couldn’t be there longer than a weekend! Your beach finds are amazing! The chiton is really cool because from what I’ve read, it’s hard to find them in one piece.

acey
on July 3, 2013 at 1:10 am

Soooo, do your friends know anyone willing to sponsor a single female thirtysomething? Oh, the things I would do for a stash of beach glass ;)

Pat Bradley
on July 3, 2013 at 1:12 am

What fabulous pictures! In your cybershelling pict there was a rock made up of a lot of little rocks near a big oyster shell. Was this something cemented together. You and Clark probably felt like kids let loose in a candy store! LOL
Glad you had a great time and found a lot of new shells.
Pat

I jave admired posts from the Merills for a long time. Can someone confirm that non military american citizens cannot travel to cuba unless its under special invite like Pam did? I thought we were denied the ability to travel there because of the embargo? If I am wrong, I am SO there!!

Donna R from NY
on July 3, 2013 at 7:18 am

Hi patti, I believe Hamilton beach on Bermuda has lots of sea glass.

Lisa Farber
on July 3, 2013 at 7:35 am

Awesome!! Shells and sea glass!

Karen
on July 3, 2013 at 7:49 am

OMG – your finds are incrediable and I love SEAGLASS! You are so lucky to have gone there, all I can say is WOW

Mary Ann Preston
on July 3, 2013 at 8:14 am

I am amazed you got to go, how lucky you are! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m loving the Triton & sea glass & well, everything! Hope you were able to bring it all back! Much love!

Mary Ann
East Granby. CT

Happy 4th All

Murfy
on July 3, 2013 at 8:30 am

What an exciting trip. So happy to see Lee and Susan again in your photos. I treasure the gift of Gitmo shells that they brought to us all at Shellabaloo 2.

Susan and Lee will you be my friend ? No, really, will you be my friend too!

Sincerely, Marlene :)

Susan H
on July 3, 2013 at 9:06 am

Fantastic shelling, you guys did unbelievably great!!! It’s often exciting to search for shells in places where regular tourists can’t go.

I believe I can ID almost all of your finds, but you have a couple of species I don’t recognize and will have to look up, like that rather large and pretty tan Latirus… that must be Latirus carinifer I guess. And what the heck is that ?top shell? near the bottom left corner, with the spiral raised ribs?????

The frog shells are great — I only find broken pieces on Nevis. And you found really a lot of the big spotted deer cowries, which in the Leeward Islands I have hardly ever found whole. Oh and the Caribbean crown conch which I have never found (on Nevis there are no mud areas for it to live in).

If you would like any help ID-ing any of this wonderful Caribbean stuff, please let me know.

Very nice shells. Glad you had a good time. The frog shell (aka Bursa) is interesting. I would like to see it close up and personal.

Lee
on July 3, 2013 at 9:51 am

How exciting, those shells are gorgeous!

Tammi
on July 3, 2013 at 9:52 am

What an amazing time you must have had. So many beautiful shells and such pretty beach glass. Used to be able to find all kinds of beach glass along the beaches of the Great Lakes in Ontario, but it has become very hard to find as the years go by.

What a great experience you had! Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful travels. I was at Little Hickory Beach last week and found an amazing area full of fighting conches over by the rocks. I had never seen so many in one place. I helped myself to around 40 and did not even make a dent in the pile.

Loree from Ohio
on July 3, 2013 at 10:45 am

I”m in . I’ll start saving my $ to go on a tour today…

Loree from Ohio
on July 3, 2013 at 10:58 am

Hi Diane, I am on Little Hickoryo right now and just came off the beach after walking for three hours this morning. I didn’t have a big enough bag for all the shells that were just sitting there waiting for someone to take them home. I was the only person on the beach for the ffirst 2 hours. I as sooooo much fun. I found many fighting conchs as well, put back at lease 30 live ones. Was licky enough to bring home many dufferent colorful conchs, many fighting welks sizing from 1 inch to 12 inches, apple murex, sharks eyes, lots of coral, calico clams and even found sevral sunray venus still attached. There were quiet a few bright orange scallops. I also found several larger clams that were in various shades of blues, very pretty. I still have to put Sanibel first on my beach list but have really enjoyed Little Hickory beach this week ( EXCEPT FOR THE RAIN). We are across the stree from the public beach access immediately after crossing the bridge coming onto Little Hickory. Glad you also had a great experience here Diane.

Loree from Ohio
on July 3, 2013 at 11:02 am

Pam and Clark, thank you for the great pictures. You guys are so lucky to be able to go with a guide. and find so many neat finds. Now you know how we (lloveshelling peope) fell when you show us fabulous shells. Like shopping in a candy store with unlimited purchases for free.

Janet from IL
on July 3, 2013 at 11:47 am

Sounds like you hit the jackpot. Good for you! It’s hard to leave Sanibel once you’re there on vacation, but it’d be great to see LH. I’ve found some blue shells mid island on Sanibel and they are really unique and beautiful! I’m guessing the color has to do with their diet.
I’ve seen them on the Atlantic coast also.

Talk about rain….I’ll be down in a few weeks (Yay!) and hope the rain subsides for a few days. (We have an all-time record total rainfall so far this year in the Chicago area.) Can’t wait to get to the “Sunshine State”! At least the storms in FL bring shells. :)

Enjoy the rest of your time!

Kris S.
on July 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm

Thanks! Good to know!

Monica
on July 3, 2013 at 3:49 pm

When and if I stop hyperventilating over these awesome pictures I will be writing at the top of my MUST list “CUBA”!!!!!

Monica
on July 3, 2013 at 4:01 pm

LOLOL I’m with ya!!

Lee in Gtmo
on July 3, 2013 at 7:17 pm

Susan – which picture are you referring to in your questions? I think between you, Pam, and I we can ID each of the shells – of course I kinda cheat by looking in my “The GTMO Shell Book.”

Paige Cavanaugh
on July 3, 2013 at 7:28 pm

SO AWESOME!! Loved this post…loved drooling over all of your treasures…The shells are so fantastic, but for me, I came unglued when faced with photos of THAT SEA GLASS!! (YES I AM YELLING I CANNOT HELP IT AHHHHHHHHH) !!!!! (!!!!!) What a truly amazing trip of a lifetime. Good for y’all! Enjoy reliving your visit as I revisit your photos again. Thanks Pam! :)

Bonnie
on July 3, 2013 at 8:07 pm

Oh Pam! How lucky are you to have such an exclusive shelling experience! Fantastic! You & Clark found some beautiful shells.
We’re coming to Sanibel/Captiva this weekend for our annual trip. the rest of the year I get my fix on your website. (Thanks so much) Hope to bump into you on the beach!

In the photo of Pam and Clark’s shells (on the big square black tray), I don’t at all recognize the shell that is three in from the lower left corner. The first two at the front on the extreme left are grey cowries, but what is the next one, before you get to the deltoid rock shells?

Kathy
on July 4, 2013 at 10:43 am

I don’t understand how you could go to Guantanamo. So any service member stationed at Guantanamo can invite people there?

I love conversations about shell details and we can all learn by asking questions about shell identification. That shell that looks like a sundial is some sort of land snail. I think its in Lee’s book.

Ellen
on July 4, 2013 at 2:32 pm

Yes, those stationed at GTMO (military, civilians, contractors) can sponsor people (visitors that don’t live there) to come down to the base.

Okay, my friend HL Schroeder is the best go-to gal I know when it comes to land snails and i think she found it! she said to look at this link… http://www.jaxshells.org/gallery4a.htm and then said…
“The shell in the first image has become established in Dade Co., FL. Not sure how far the range extends. I have one from the Homestead area. I think the link provided gives you an idea how nice the shells are when found fresh. How big is your specimen. Mine measure MaxD of 38 mm. The periostracum on your shell has worn off as well.

Thanks HL (Hot Lips) !

Lee in Gtmo
on July 5, 2013 at 8:58 am

We came to Sanibel to not only meet a great group at Shellaballoo 2 but also to check out the local beaches and shells for our first time (it didn’t disappoint)! We do enjoy our shell hunts down here on the Rock :)

Lee in Gtmo
on July 5, 2013 at 9:10 am

The shell that is 3 from lower left corner is a Naninia Snail. There are several McGinty’s Latirus in various colors on the right side of the tray. There were lots of nice minis found just not on the beach finds trays from that day – hopefully we will get to see some in a future blog post. Many of the cowries we did find were Measled Cowries but we did find some of the darker Atlantic Deer Cowries.

Oh, thanks Lee. So I got the Latirus right anyway, that’s good. The Naninia land snail shell looks really cool (and large!) although I can’t see it so well in the photo. And ah, so at GTMO you have Macrocypraea zebra as well as Macrocypraea cervus; that’s nice!! Further south there is only M. zebra!

Yes… I bet your shelling is really wonderful after a storm!

Sanibelle
on July 5, 2013 at 7:49 pm

Holy Moly, Rocky, those are some fantastic shells!!!

A big thank you to Lee and Susan for inviting you and Clark to GTMO so that us mere mortals could have a peek at the hidden treasures.

Really cool shells. Being an olive freak, I have to ask about the shell on Susans tray, to the right, third row down, below the bleached urchin. Is it a type of olive?

Judy B
on July 5, 2013 at 9:50 pm

Love, Love, Love all of your new shells and sea glass!! Wow, that was so nice of Lee and Susan to invite you to a place where most of us cannot visit!! Thank you for sharing your finds and letting us see a different part of the world. Thanks for identifying them too – I thought I found a baby Kings Helmet in the Caribbean in March but it looks just like your picture of a Flame Helmet. Now, if only I can stop drooling over your finds.

Sanibelle, That is a MEASLED COWRIE. I’ll show those in one of the next posts of our collection- i hope soon!

JudyB, the king helmets have a very pronounced triangular shape on the mouth side. I’ll try to show the difference between the 2 in my next post of our collection from GTMO as well.

Thank you all for such wonderful comments! I love that we can all learn together about different shells of the world!

Lee in Gtmo
on July 5, 2013 at 10:35 pm

After further review I believe the snail is really a Banded Caracol- being so faded is what threw me off. I’ll try to take a close up pic of some of these and post.

Diane s
on July 7, 2013 at 7:15 pm

It would be awesome to have a group trip there

KimC
on July 7, 2013 at 8:01 pm

Wow, not only am I drooling… I’m planning too! Hubby just retired from military, so I think we can take a “hop” over there. Checking into it first thing tomorrow ;).

Lee in GTMO… Will y’all shell with us if we can “hop” over?

Pam…. Olivia & I will be in Sanibel 22-26. We hope to see you on the beach!

Karen George
on July 8, 2013 at 11:40 am

Had to ask, but I think I already know the answer – you have to be Military or retired Military to go to Gitmo Beach? Guess we all just can’t hop over to Cuba even though it is a US Military base? Maybe Gitmo can have a shell trip like Oceana has the Naval Air Show???? I wish!

I wish too! but unfortunately thats right- As Ellen said “… those stationed at GTMO (military, civilians, contractors) can sponsor people (visitors that don’t live there) to come down to the base.”

Karen George
on July 8, 2013 at 12:18 pm

Thanks Pam so gald you got to experience that, I need to get back to Sanibel maybe in the fall, I usually do my yearly trip in the spring

Lee in Gtmo
on July 16, 2013 at 8:48 pm

KimC – Let us know if you are able to make it down here and we will try to show you some of the good spots. If you need my email you can get it from Pam.

Binh "Jack" Nguyen
on July 17, 2013 at 1:41 pm

Hello Pam and Clark!
While trying to ID some shells here in GTMO (there’s still one I can’t figure out!) I stumbled onto your site! I’ve been stationed here at GTMO for a year long deployment, and have developed shell fever since being here! It looks like you folks were just here, ironic that I stumbled onto this webpage! I hope you guys enjoyed your visit, great finds out there, I plan on visiting Ft. Meyers and Sanibel Island on my return to Florida :)

Jack- Yes!That is so ironic! Yes, we were JUST there and we found some shells that I havent written a post about because it was hard IDing all of them… but I think I have most of the IDed now and will post soon and maybe they are similar. I hope I can help you solve your mystery shell. We looooved our stay in GTMO and I see why you have developed shell fever- it was tremendous- Thank you so much for commenting!

KimC
on July 18, 2013 at 3:32 pm

Hi Lee! I checked and we are a Class VI in Space A travel. NAS JAX said we have to be sponsored :(

He sounded surprised when I asked… I guess he doesn’t get a lot of requests about Gitmo lol.

Thank you for replying!
Kim
3 days until Sanibel

Suzy
on August 8, 2013 at 3:52 pm

What a great trip for you. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and photos. Drooling jealous here ;)

Ange
on June 3, 2014 at 9:43 pm

man oh man. I’d sell half my soul for that sea glass. The only thing I love more than olives would be some sea glass.

This is where I discovered shelling! My dad was stationed at GTMO in the 70’s and my Mom and I spent many happy hours shelling on the beaches there. I never found a Helmet or Tritons Trumpet though. Most of your other finds are familiar, especially the Hawk-wing conchs. Those were always my favorite. I’d love to make it back there someday. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Sarah
on August 15, 2017 at 10:04 am

Hi there, I am not sure if you read/respond to comments but I was wondering if you had any information on how to visit this beach? I will be traveling to Cuba and would like to go, but can’t find any information. Thanks!